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14:26 01Jun09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end at 9-mth high on China hopes * AU Optronics rises on improving sector outlook * HTC up after report of tie-up with AT&T * Fubon gains after welcoming Chinese investors to take stake (Adds details and quotes) TAIPEI, June 1 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose 0.92 percent on Monday to a nine-month closing high as a flurry of Chinese purchasing groups visiting the island this week propped up tech shares and asset plays gained on a stronger local currency. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> breached the 7,000-point level for the first time since late August, hitting 7,033.33 at the open, but later pared part of its gains as some investors locked in profits. The TAIEX eventually closed 63.66 points higher at 6,954.10, its best finish since August 29, 2008, and building on a 51 percent jump so far this year. The local market was closed on Thursday and Friday for the Dragon Boat Festival. Turnover was active at T$201.9 billion ($6.2 billion), lower than T$223.5 billion the previous session. The electronics sub-index <.TELI> closed up 0.57 percent. Last Thursday, China signed business contracts worth $5.6 billion with Taiwan and is sending more purchasing groups to the island. [ID:nPEK183493] "The market rose on three main factors that have been pushing it up: stabilising global markets, the world economy bottoming out and China hopes," said John Chiu, a vice president of Fuh Hwa Securities Investment Trust. "As long as these factors remain, the local market could continue rising gradually in the next few months." AU Optronics <2409.tw>, Taiwan's top flat panel TV maker, rose 1.93 percent after a newspaper cited the chairman as saying the sector should continue to improve in the third quarter. In May, the company told Reuters it expected to return to profitability in the second half of 2009, boosted by improving demand for flat-screen TVs, especially from China. [ID:nTP238911] Smartphone maker HTC <2498.tw> rose 2.48 percent after the Economic Daily said the company had reached an agreement with telecoms operator AT&T to sell its handsets in the United States from August this year. Chip designer Mediatek <2454.tw> rose 1.75 percent after the newspaper said the company had begun shipping WiMax-enabled chips to its clients, breaking the market dominance of Intel and Fujitsu <6702.t>. Investors were also hoping that Computex, the world's second-largest computer show running this week in Taiwan, would provide evidence that the technology sector was recovering, analysts said. Gains in asset plays provided further support to the broader market following sharp rises in the Taiwan dollar , which should boost the value of their holdings at home. Taiwan Fertilizer <1722.tw> and Yulon Motor <2201.tw>, which have large land assets, advanced 0.96 percent and by its daily 7 percent limit, respectively. In financial news, Fubon <2881.tw>, the island's No.5 financial holding firm, said on Monday it would welcome Chinese investors to take up to a 20 percent stake in the company. [ID:nTPU001413] Shares of Fubon rose 0.48 percent, while the financial sub-index <.TFNI> climbed 0.79 percent. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day 0.92 percent Close on day 6,954.10 2009 intraday high 7,033.33 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 All time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990 ------------------------------------------------------------ For a table of foreign trading in Taiwan stocks, double-click on [ID:nTP170358] (US$1=T$32.4) (Reporting by Gina Chang; Editing by Nick Macfie) ((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging:gina.chang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.com)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia......[STXNEWS/AS] Japan........[.T] S.Korea....[.KS] S.E. Asia............[.SO] Hong Kong...[.HK] Taiwan.....[.TW] Australia/NZ.........[.AX] India.......[.BO] China......[.SS] OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street...........[.N] Gold.........[GOL/] Currency..[FRX/] Eurostocks...........[.EU] Oil...........[O/R] JP bonds...[JP/] ADR Report..........[ADR/] LME metals..[MET/L] US bonds...[US/] Stocks News US...[STXNEWS/US] Stocks News Europe...[STXNEWS/EU] DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary [ASIA/EQTY] U.S. earnings diary [RESF/US] European diary [WEU/EQTY] Taiwan diary [TW/DIARY] Wall Street Week Ahead [.N/O] Eurostocks Week Ahead [.EU/O] World forecasts TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: [nTOPEQA] U.S. company news [TOP/EQU] European company news [TOP/EQE] Forex news [TOP/FRX] Global Economy news [TOP/MACRO] Technology news [TOP/TECH] Telecoms news [TOP/TELCO] Media news [TOP/MEDIA] Banking news [TOP/FIN] Politics/General news [TOP/G] Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks <0#.index> Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ <.DJI> <.IXIC> Nikkei <.N225> FTSE 100 <.FTSE> Debt <0#usbmk=> Taiwan dollar LME price overview TAIWAN MARKET: Taiwan equity mkt TAIEX <.TWII><.TV.TW> Other indices <0#.inx.tw> TAISDAQ <.TWOII><.TV.TWO> TAIMEX Taiwan index futures <0#tx:> MSCI Taiwan index <.MSTW> SIMEX Taiwan index futures <0#stw:> FTSE TW50 index <.FTSETW50> Keywords: MARKETS TAIWAN STOCKS/
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